The number of cases since the outbreak surfaced 13 days ago rose to 3,089 from 2,502 on Tuesday. Of those who contracted the disease, about 3.5 per cent had died, the head of the agency, Angelo Borrelli, said.

Education Minister Lucia Azzolina said schools and universities all over the country would be closed from Thursday until at least March 15. Those in the northern regions most heavily affected by the epidemic had already been closed.

The school closures caused jubilation among most children and mixed reactions from parents.

“I hoped for this decree because I feared an outbreak at school,” said Massimiliano Del Ninno, father of a Rome primary school student. “Even if we are dealing with an age group that doesn’t seem to be at risk, they could have been carriers.”

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Clarissa Mazzei, a 30-year-old mother of three, called it “tragic … for the students, and also for the parents.”

Deputy Economy Minister Laura Castelli said the government was aware of the problems it would cause families and was preparing a directive to allow a parent to stay home from work to look after children.

The overwhelming majority of the deaths have occurred in Milan’s Lombardy region and the neighbouring northern area around the cities of Bologna and Venice. But 21 of the 22 regions have now had cases and infections appear to be slowly reaching Italy’s less wealthy and developed south.

The government met on Wednesday to plan new and more radical steps aimed at the country’s overall population of 60 million – and not just the north where restrictions have been in place for over a week.

Media reports said people will be advised to stay at least a metre (three feet) apart and to avoid crowded places whenever possible.

The traditional greetings of kissing on the cheeks or shaking hands are strongly discouraged.

Exhibits and shows are set to be rescheduled – a measure that will be especially painful for Italy’s already hard-hit hotel and restaurant industry.

Some of the government’s more mundane and common-sense measures include instructions to cough and sneeze in a handkerchief to avoid hands coming in contact with “respiratory secretions”.

Italians will also be urged to avoid sharing bottles and not to drink from the same cups and glasses.

The crowd-control measures will most directly affect football matches and could cause the most resentment in the sports-mad nation.

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Italy’s Serie A has already been thrown into disarray by two weeks of postponements that have seen some clubs not play at all and others play multiple matches in a week.

Fans will even be prohibited from attending the training sessions of top teams such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus in Turin.

The government will also recommend to those over 75 to stay indoors and to avoid public places. The advice extends to those who are at least 65 and suffer from other ailments.

Additional reporting by Reuters